Unexpected
by DoctorWhoObsessed7
Summary: This is a story about Sam, Dean, and a new female hunter Cecilia. Will Sam be able to push aside his fear of hurting people he loves enough to be with Cecilia? Will Dean be able to put up with a rivalry between him and a girl who may be better than him? Read and Review! Set during Season 2, after John's death, but before Dean's deal!
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: Welcome to my story! I started this story because I am in major love with Supernatural, and I think it's kind of a travesty that the guys never seem to have a female counterpart for long. I've set it somewhere in season 2, after John is dead (sad!) and before Dean makes his deal. I hope you all like it but I won't know unless you review! To all those waiting for Blindsided to be updated, I promise a new chapter is coming soon! Read and Review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but our new female hunter friend!

Chapter 1:

Sam's POV:

One thing I knew for certain, was that I was going to kill my brother.

Dean had once again managed to get me tangled up in the most ridiculous hunt ever, one that I was beginning to think we wouldn't be able to escape from. We'd come to Minnesota to hunt a specific nest of vampires that had been giving locals trouble recently, and it wasn't going well. They were rowdy, noisy, liquor-loving, the typical vampire type. We'd tracked them down to the bar they frequented, hoping to tail them home and make a plan from there. Somewhere along the way they'd recognized us, and long story short we were now speeding away fast as we could. The vampires were surrounding us, managing somehow to gain ground with the trusty Impala, and things looked tricky to say the least. Dean too seemed to feel the rising tension; he was cussing up a storm from the driver seat, constantly looking behind us and trying desperately to speed up.

"This is pointless. You ready? Cause I'm gonna stop soon", Dean said angrily. I gaped at him, mouth open for a second before he turned his glare towards me. "Don't give me that face, just get ready to stop! Get into the trunk and grab something to cut them up with", he snapped gesturing to the back of the Impala.

"Dean are you nuts? There's at least 8 of them back there! And we've got no colt, no backup, nothing. We are the definition of sitting ducks", I practically yelled.

"Thanks for the newsflash Captain Obvious, but unless you've got a better idea you wanna share with the class, this is the plan", he barked. When I said nothing, he gestured once again to the back of the car. Reluctantly, I pulled the backseat down to access the trunk, pulling some knives out for Dean and me. I shot him a look that clearly said, 'if we get out of this alive I'm going to kill you' before handing him his favorite knife. He nodded once, then seemed to steady himself. Just before the Impala came to an abrupt stop, I heard piercing screams coming from behind us.

As we jumped out of the car, I saw that the vamp's truck too had stopped, and they were all screaming and raging over something. I turned to Dean, who simply shrugged and started walking towards the scene with his knife raised high. As we walked closer and closer to the truck, I suddenly realized what had made them stop. At least three of them were laying further behind the truck, the ones I recognized that had been in the truck's bed, and weren't moving. I wondered what could have possibly knocked them off, and why they were so still. Vampires weren't known to be fragile, certainly a little spill off the back of the truck wouldn't have bothered them this much. I mean, the entire clan was so focused on whatever was happening behind the truck that they hadn't even registered Dean or me yet. Approaching them quietly, I had to squelch the shock I felt as I suddenly realized why they were so wholly distracted by the scene. The vampires that had been in the truck bed were now laying in the middle of the highway, their heads completely severed off. Dean seemed to realize this at the same time I did, and grabbed my arm to stop me.

"What the fuck", he cursed under his breath; I just shrugged. Staring, I tried to figure out what could have done this, and I know that Dean was doing the same. As we stood thinking, suddenly the remaining vampires began screaming and falling to the ground. Glancing at each other, we ran forward to see what the hell was happening just as a girl appeared out of nowhere on the side of the road. She reached the vamps before we did, running through and quickly injecting each of them with some sort of syringe. I furrowed my brow even further, quite a feat at this point, as we finally caught up to the group. Seeing us, the girl threw up her hands and started speaking quickly.

"I know how this looks but you both are just gonna have to bear with me for a minute before you start screaming. These aren't humans, and they're really quite dangerous. So it would be in your vested interest to just turn your asses around and pretend this never happened. Kay?" she spoke with a clear authority that came from having given the same spiel over and over. I knew it all too well. Clearly Dean and I had stumbled upon another hunter, a female hunter. She didn't look the type though, and I could tell it was throwing Dean for a loop. Realizing that we'd been staring at her for a while, I cleared my throat and put my hands up as well.

"Actually I think we can help you", I said, carefully stepping towards her slowly. She threw me an endearing smile that made me pause a second.

"I'm sure you think you can, but trust me sugar these guys are nothing to be messed with. I've got this, so hurry up and hightail it outta here", she said flashing another one of those smiles. I felt my knees go weak, and I couldn't help but chuckle. If I weren't so cued in to what had just happened I was certain she would've just charmed me into leaving. Dean caught up from behind me and hit my arm.

"Man she's good", he said. "Don't worry honey, we're hunters too. We just wanna help you clean up this mess". She raised an eyebrow.

"Hunters huh? Prove it", she challenged. This time it was Dean who raised an eyebrow. Rolling his eyes, he showed her the anti-possession tattoo he had over his heart and I did the same. Satisfied, she nodded and returned to her work. She grabbed a large knife I hadn't realized was near her and handed it to me, looking directly into my eyes. I just gaped for a second as the streetlight hit her eyes and I saw just how beautiful they were. The palest blue I'd ever seen, surrounded by deep black eyeliner and a fan of lashes. If I were the romantic type I'd say they took my breath away. Dean however just scoffed and spoke loudly, interrupting my thoughts.

"One little tattoo and you're handing us a knife? Word of advice, don't be so trusting. Not everyone's as friendly as us, and you're pretty much asking for a knife in the back", he said smugly. She turned her attention to him, giving him the deadliest smile I'd ever seen and getting closer to him than even he was comfortable with.

"Trust me you wouldn't get within a foot of me 'honey' ", she mocked. Dean scoffed and frowned, but clearly disturbed by her threat. I chuckled.

"Now I've given each of these lucky vamps enough dead man's blood to paralyze them for a while, but I don't like to take any chances. My arms are dead sore from climbing that damn tree, so how about you guys Marie Antoinette the rest of the bunch and I'll start burning the others?", she continued dragging one of the freshly decapitated bodies to the side of the road.

"Tree?" I questioned. She nodded proudly.

"Yeah tree, but let's save the explanation for later, okay?" she said, dragging the others to the shoulder. I nodded, and joined Dean in working on the other vampires while she started burning their bodies. As we all silently worked, I couldn't help but sneak glances at her every so often. It was clear she was beautiful, even while she sweated and grunted her way through burning corpses. She didn't look like the typical hunter type. Most female hunters kept their hair short, preferring to keep it out of the way I supposed, but she had hair that reached most of the way down her back even though it was pulled back into a tight ponytail. She wasn't clad in any leather jackets like I'd come to expect either. Rather, she wore a pair of ripped up skinny jeans, a black t-shirt that had a Metallica emblem on it, and a red long-sleeved flannel over the top. On her feet were a pair of mid-calf combat boots that looked worn as hell. As we all finished our tasks I could practically feel Dean's irritation radiating off him. I don't think he liked being one-upped and beaten to the pack, especially by a girl. I laughed internally, he was just going to have to get over this one. The girl brushed off her hands as the last body burned, and turned to face us once more.

"Thanks guys", she said sincerely. "Like I said, that would've really sucked to have done all alone. Not to mention it would've taken forever. So thanks". Dean seemed to be a little less pissed after her thanks, and even waved his hand as if it were nothing. Rolling my eyes, I returned my attention to the girl in front of us.

"So, the tree?" I questioned. She grinned like a proud child, and explained animatedly.

"I know they always come by this way, every night at around the same time. So I set up a surprise for them tonight. I climbed all the way up over there", she motioned to a tree on the opposite side of the street, "and tied on one end of my wire, and then climbed all the way up to this tree," she motioned to the one we were standing under, "and held the other side. As soon as they drove by I knew I'd get at least a few of the assholes that always stand in back. And after they all stopped I started firing some arrows dipped in dead man's blood at the rest before climbing down", she concluded.

I had to admit that was a brilliant plan by all accounts. Dean was right, the girl was good. Dean whistled low, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Even I gotta admit, that was good", he said, clearly impressed. She grinned wider.

"I know", she said. I smiled at her obvious joy. Then I frowned.

"Are you hunting all alone? Where's your partner?" I questioned. I watched carefully as her face fell slightly, before she replaced it with a cool mask. It was only just a second, but I could tell her partner was a sore spot for her. Oblivious, Dean frowned too and asked,

"Yeah where is he?" Now she out rightly frowned and rolled her eyes.

"I don't have a partner, but if I did I wouldn't just assume it was a man. I managed to pull this off alone, without a man", she pointed out hotly. Dean scoffed, clearly peeved.

"I don't know about you, but I see two men that just helped clean up your mess", he seethed. She opened her mouth ready to fire back before I interjected.

"What he means is, we know how dangerous hunting alone can be. Hell, hunting's dangerous in general, but hunting alone is practically suicidal. You really don't have anyone to go with?" I placated her quickly. No way was I getting caught in some feminist debate between my brother and some hunter chick. Honestly, at this point I'd side with the girl; she kicked some major ass. She seemed to calm down a bit before shaking her head decisively. I tried not to look sympathetic, as I was pretty sure this girl wanted nothing to do with anyone's pity.

"Well why don't you stick around with us a while, help us out?" I proposed gently. Immediately she started shaking her head at the same time that Dean whipped his head to look at me.

"Helping who now?" he practically yelled, glaring at me. I didn't know what it was about this girl, but the thought of her out hunting, alone, made me sick. I was intrigued by her, and I wanted her to stick around longer. She gave Dean a dirty look, and punched his arm somewhat playfully.

"Firstly, you would be lucky to have me around pretty-boy", she snapped as Dean crossed his arms and glowered. "Second", she continued, looking at me, "I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine. I work better alone anyways".

She walked over to the vampire's truck and started it up, but climbed down to grab her stuff. Dean snorted.

"Hey, honey? Big chance that rig is stolen. You may wanna think of finding a new ride soon, or your ass is gonna be covered in orange in no time", he sneered. Clearly he did not like to be snubbed by some girl, even if he didn't want her to come in the first place. She smiled that deadly smile again as she threw her bow and arrow and her knives into the truck bed. She tossed a canvas bag, much like mine, into the bed as well before pulling something out of it. She held up two license plates and a screwdriver, before busying herself switching them with the old plates.

"From my old hunk of junk", she said airily as she replaced the old ones. I couldn't help but laugh at the sheer shock on Dean's face. He turned to me, seemingly at a loss, and I just shrugged.

"She's good", I explained. He frowned at me and re-crossed his arms like a kid who got scolded by his mother. I laughed again before looking at the girl once more. She was tossing the screwdriver in the truck bed, and heading towards the driver's door when I spoke up.

"You really sure you don't want to join us? We could really help each other out", I said hopefully. She raised an eyebrow, and I felt my face get hot. I hadn't meant that the way it'd ended up sounding. "With hunting. Obviously" I amended quickly, clearing my throat. She nodded with a knowing look on her face, and even Dean chuckled. I felt the blush stay on my face, and I just cleared my throat again wishing someone else would say something. Thankfully, the girl took pity on me and shook her head once more.

"Nah I'll pass", she said. I felt myself beginning to panic as she stepped back towards the truck. I didn't want her to go, chances were I'd never see her again, and the thought of her out hunting, alone terrified me. So I searched my brain, wanting to think of something to delay her leaving. After a second I blurted out,

"Hey!" She turned and gave me a questioning look, pausing with her hand on the door handle. I racked my thoughts, trying to think, eventually letting my curiosity take hold. "What's your name?" It was something I genuinely wanted to know, but hadn't gotten the chance to ask. She smiled and I felt my face pull into a smile as well. Dean seemed curious, but kept looking between the girl and me, as if he were trying to figure something out.

"Cecilia", she said simply. I smiled. It fit her so well.

"Nice to meet you Cecilia. I'm Sam, and this is Dean", I said gesturing to each of us. She stepped closer to me, causing every nerve in my body to stand on end, waiting for whatever was about to happen. She smiled and flicked her eyes up to my lips before speaking.

"Sam huh? Thanks for your help tonight", she said genuinely before leaning up to plant a soft kiss on my cheek. I flushed. Her lips on my face made me feel like an electric current had run through my whole body, centering in on that one spot. I managed to nod dumbly at her, never breaking eye contact. After what felt like an eternity, she turned to nod at Dean.

"Thanks to you too pretty-boy", she said, stepping into the truck. "See you 'round", she said finally as she drove away into the night. Dean and I stood and watched her leave before looking at each other. Shaking his head at what I'm sure was a dopey look on my face, Dean and I headed to the Impala. I tried, in vain, to reign in the immense disappointment I felt after finding that Cecilia had indeed left. The likelihood of us crossing paths were slim, and somehow I wasn't okay with it. Dean looked at me with an exasperated look as I sat in the passenger's seat.

"What?" I questioned. He just shook his head again and turned the key in the ignition.

"You look like a damn puppy", he grumbled.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Dean's POV:

I was pretty sure my brother was going to kill me.

It'd been a week since our last hunt, and I was going absolutely fucking nuts. Sam, being the only one who was actually around, was admittedly probably getting the worst of an angry Dean. Currently we were in the car: me driving, Sam pointedly trying to ignore me and read his book. He had some huge tome on his lap with letters so small that his nose was literally in the damn book. I think it was more like he was hiding in his book, because to be honest I hadn't been a ray of sunshine lately. Even though we were on our way to a case, we hadn't had been on one in a while, and it had been driving me crazy. If I were the sentimental type I'd say that I was so hell bent on getting a case because that's what my dad would have wanted me to do, or because doing what he wanted us to do would keep my mind off of how he wasn't around anymore.

Good thing I've never been the sentimental type.

"So where are we going again?" I asked Sam, attempting to break some of the awkward tension. Sam answered tersely, his eyes never leaving his book.

"Knoxville".

"Okay. Why?" I followed up.

"There's been some murders that I wanna check out" he replied as he flipped a page. I rolled my eyes; I know I'd been difficult to be around lately, and being the girl he was he was probably ignoring me. I'd play along with this little angsty thing that he was doing for a while, but if he didn't look up soon I'd be forced to send his book on a one way trip down the highway.

"What kind of murders?" I asked, curiously.

"3 families, all dead in house fires", he answered. I huffed.

"Well if you wanna share with the class why that's any of our damn business, I'd love to hear it". He sighed dramatically, but looked up from his book anyways. I mean he glared at me, but he looked up.

"In each house the fires came from in one of the rooms, and all the doors and windows were boarded up from the inside. So either Knoxville has got some seriously deranged, suicidal family members, or…"

"Or we've got ourselves a ghost", I said, grinning at Sam before turning my eyes back to the road. He shook his head and chuckled.

"Careful. Being this excited about a murderous ghost is borderline sadistic", he remarked dryly.

"Can't help it man. We haven't had a case in forever, and I'm starting to feel way too civilian for my comfort", I said honestly.

"Uh huh. I'm sure that's what's been bugging you", he said sarcastically. I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah it is. But if you've got some better insight on my own damn feelings I'd love to hear it", I replied with a small smirk, daring him to say something. He shook his head.

"Forget it".

"Oh come on Sammy. No emotional intuition from you today?" I questioned hotly. I knew exactly where he was about to go with that, and I would be damned if I was gonna get all touchy feely and start talking about dad. Instead, I decided to do what I do best: go on the offensive. "I mean I know the fact that we haven't run into that chick again is hurting your little girl feelings, but come on Oprah, please share". His head snapped towards the window.

"Shut up", he grumbled. Ah, there we go, I'd struck a nerve. I smirked. I knew he was still hung up on that other hunter we'd met a few weeks back in the Midwest. He was pining after her like a dog, and I would've found it funny if I didn't find it so pathetic.

I mean the girl was good, but she was irritating as hell. I personally wouldn't mind if we never ran into her again, but clearly Sam was still hoping she'd magically appear again. Regardless, he didn't say anything after that and we rode out the last few miles in silence.

After we got into town we headed to the police station to do the whole 'FBI investigation, give us the files and don't ask questions' routine. Problem was, none of the fires had left any survivors so finding people to talk to was gonna be a bitch. Getting the case files was gonna be a start though. I felt a smile on my face as we walked up the steps to the police station. It felt good to be working and doing what I do again; good to be back to normal. So good that I damn near had a skip in my step. Sam eyed me questioningly, grabbing my arm and pulling me aside as we walked through the doors.

"Dude. I'm happy you're so excited, but tone back the giddiness. It's creepy, and no cop is gonna be this damn eager over some people dying. Alright? ", he said giving me a downright parental look. I shrugged, putting my hands up in surrender. I wiped the grin off my face, realizing Sam was right, and we headed towards the desk. It was manned by a younger, doe-y eyed cop who was currently gazing at some woman talking to him. Girl was wearing some kinda professional looking get up: one of those tight business-type black skirts and a matching jacket. The skirt was shorter than I guessed was allowed in most offices, but the young cop didn't seem to mind much. I scoffed and started to walk forward anyway, until I felt Sam grab my arm once more and pull me back.

"Dean. Don't you know who that is?" he said, gesturing at the woman and looking about as doe-y eyed as the cop. I scrunched my face before looking again. The woman was tallish, with long black hair that hung, wavy, to the small of her back. She had a bunch of rings adoring almost all of her fingers, and I thought I saw the ghost of a tattoo where her shirt began to fall from her shoulder. I frowned as I turned back to Sam. He rolled his eyes.

"Don't strain yourself", he said condescendingly. "It's' that chick' you've been on my ass about for the last week. That's Cecilia".

As realization dawned on me, I felt my face turn into what could only be described as a pout (though I would never describe it as such). Now I understood why the girl had seemed so unprofessional towards the cop at the desk. Why she was shamelessly twirling a piece of her hair in front of the dopey looking kid. Annoyance welled in my chest as I crossed my arms. Sam chuckled in wonder and gazed at the girl, who was now grabbing some manila folders from the young cop. Poor dude looked like he was about to faint. I huffed and started to walk over. Girl had already beaten me to a pack of bloodsuckers, and I'd be damned if she was gonna beat me to a rampaging, arsonist ghost.

As I Sam and I reached the desk neither the chick, Cecilia I guess, nor the sweaty cop even glanced our way. So I cleared my throat loudly until they turned to face us, each with a wildly different expression. The kid looked pissed to have been interrupted in what I'm sure he thought was some great flirting. (Honestly though, the poor guy was in way over his head; I mean I'd seen Sammy flirt better than him, and Sam had never flirted a day in his life). Cecilia had a brief flash of recognition pass her face before it snapped back into a cool, smiling facade. Anyone watching wouldn't have even noticed anything off, which was almost impressive.

Almost.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we need the case files for all the recent fires", I said showing my fake FBI badge. "It's kind of urgent".

The cop at the desk finally tore his eyes away from staring at Cecelia's chest just long enough to furrow his brow at me.

"Well I would've be happy to have given them to you, uh, sir, but..."

"But it looks like I've beaten you to it Agent...Osbourne", Cecilia interrupted, sneaking a look at the fake badge I wore on my coat pocket. "Maybe my car's just a little bit faster than yours, but don't worry about it I was going to bring these files to you as soon as you motored your way into town", she finished with what probably looked like an honest and endearing expression, but what I knew to be a smirk aimed straight for me.

I gritted my teeth at the mention of my car; somehow this bitch knew that insulting the Impala was like insulting me, and boy did I feel insulted. But her smirk was soon replaced by a pointed look sent my way as she filled the silence left by my lack of a response.

"Don't you remember? Our supervior asked us to work together on this one. What with the scale of it, and all the publicity and whatnot I guess she figured that three heads are better than one", she said throwing stabs with her eyes, daring Sam or I to contradict her. I got the message: play along, blow my cover and there will be hell to pay (it was a looked I'd also perfected throughout the years). And as much fun as blowing her cover sounded, I just knew that this chick would take us down with her and I didn't much feel like trying to break out of another jail cell tonight. So I nodded and politely smiled.

"Mhm ah", I agreed. Sam cleared his throat.

"So if you've gotten the files Agent...Cobain", he said glancing at her badge. "We can go discuss them elsewhere". I looked at her with an amused expression.

"Cobain huh?" I said lightly. "I forgot that was your name". She smiled genuinely this time and even giggled a little.

"Well with a first name like Francis no one really remembers your last name", she said lightheartedly. I laughed out loud; this girl may be a pain in the ass, but she sure did know how to pick a name. I could respect that.

Sam and the cop looked confused, and before long Cecilia cleared her throat and turned to the kid at the desk.

"Well Jack you've been a doll, but like Agent...Hetfield said", she said glancing at Sam's badge. "We've gotta start discussing these cases. See ya round". She linked arms with Sam and started out the door.

"Wait!"

The poor kid looked even more flustered, and began to shuffle his papers around frantically. "Well, uh, here let me give you this number. It goes directly to the front desk, which I've been assigned to all night tonight", he said with what I'm sure he thought to be a suave look sent Cecilia's way. I saw Sam's jaw tighten, and he grabbed the post-it from the man with a self-assured smirk.

"Thanks. We'll be in touch", he said, tossing it in his pocket and steering Cecilia out the door. I chuckled at the expression on his face before following my brother out the door.

Score one for Sammy.

When we got outside I crossed my arms and faced Cecilia.

"So. Our supervisor wants us to work together huh?" I smirked. She rolled her eyes.

"Don't feel so flattered Ozzie", she said playfully. "I just didn't want your big mouth to ruin everything". I frowned.

"Whaddya mean my big mouth? I'm a professional", I said, pushing out my chest. Sam snickered and Cecilia looked at him before smirking at me and shrugging.

"Can't be too careful. Besides I was trying to get out of there without that poor guy's number. So thanks for taking care of that", she turned to Sam, who's ears turned a shade of pink I was almost ashamed to admit had adorned someone I was related to. He just cleared his throat and nodded politely.

"Yeah sure anytime", he muttered. It was my turn to roll my eyes.

"So the files. You gonna let us see 'em or what?" I broke Sam's awkward tension with my usual bluntness. She exhaled.

"Tell you what. How bout we work together on this one? I think I've just about got it figured out, but I just need the files to confirm some things I've guessed", she said. I tightened my arms across my chest. Sam threw me a challenging look before looking down at Cecilia.

"Of course we can work together", he said, smiling at her like a dope. I groaned loudly and he turned to frown at me. "Excuse us a second", he told her before dragging me off to the side to speak. She just nodded and opened up one of the files. I glared at Sam hotly before talking.

"What? I hate working with other hunters, and this girl's done nothing but push my buttons since we've met her", I pushed. He crossed his arms as well.

"Only because you've been a baby the entire time we've known her. Face it Dean, you don't like that she might actually be good at what we do too, and you really don't like that for once someone beat you to a case", he fired back.

"Oh that is not it", I bluffed. He shot me a disbelieving look.

"Oh really? Cause by all accounts you and this girl should be freaking bff's. You both like the same kind of music far as I can tell, you pick the same stupid references for your fake names, and you're both the biggest flirts on the face of the Earth", he listed sardonically. I shrugged.

"So the girl has decent taste in music. Big deal. Doesn't mean I have to be all happy to work with her", I shot. Truth be told, I wasn't as angry to work with Cecilia as I let on; the girl had style, that much was undeniable. Besides, Sam was clearly gunning to work with her, and I had been a pill lately, so the least I could do was give the kid a break. He rolled his eyes at me, and we walked back to where she was still standing, reading through the files. She looked up to acknowledge us with a questioning look.

"Everything sorted?" she asked plainly. I nodded once before clearing my throat.

"So what'd you find in those files?" I asked. Her eyes brightened.

"Everything I needed. In fact I know where the ghost will be tonight", she stated proudly. Sam and I glanced at each other before looking at her again. She nodded. "Fires all take place around midnight, which means we haven't got unlimited time", she said shoving a post-it in my face and heading towards the same hunk of junk truck she'd taken from the vampires a few weeks ago. "That's the address, I've got some stuff to do before this whole thing goes down, so I'll meet you there at dusk and explain then". She hopped into the truck and drove off, waving as she left. Sam turned to look at me, his expression one of pure bewilderment. I shrugged and began walking to the Impala.

"Starting to see why you're so obsessed with her" I said as we climbed in. "She's got some serious style".


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sam's POV:

Dean may not be convinced, but I was; Cecilia was a wonder.

We met her at some place in the suburbs, and turns out that the thing she'd had to do before meeting us was convincing the family that lived in the house to leave ASAP. She apparently flashed her fake credentials, told the family that they were in danger, and made them believe the guy who'd been burning down houses was after theirs next. Which, granted, wasn't so far from the truth, but it was impressive nonetheless that she managed to charm the single mother into leaving for the night with her two kids so Cecilia could 'catch the bastard'. Dean and I caught the tail end of her act as we pulled up to the address. She was so convincing, she nearly had me believing that she was a real cop, and what's more she had me believing she was a single mom too (as she had told the woman she was).

As the woman and her children left for a few days, apparently to go stay with the woman's mother, I watched Cecilia interact with them with rapt fascination. She was hugging the woman so empathetically, and speaking with the kids so animatedly that they didn't seem to want to leave her. I understood how they felt. Cecilia had a knack for making people feel safe around her, like she would do anything in her power to help them out. I got the distinct feeling that it was maybe the only part of her facade that was genuine. The way she interacted with the mother was particularly interesting, because she really seemed to commiserate with the woman. As if she really, really understood what it was like being a single mom.

I wondered if it was all just a means to getting the woman out the door, but suddenly it dawned on me that for all I knew, she could be a mom; single or otherwise. I wouldn't guess that she was any older than me, in fact I'd even go so far to say that she was probably younger than me, but how was I supposed to know? The lack of knowledge I had about her settled uncomfortably in my stomach like a knot; I was so intrigued by this girl that I hadn't even considered the fact that I didn't really even know her. Should I really be working a case with a hunter I didn't know?

I mused silently for a while before Cecilia finally ushered the rather flustered mother out the door with strict instruction not to return for a few days. After they finally walked out, she breathed a sigh of relief as she leaned her back on the closed door. She looked up at Dean and me with a pained and somewhat guilty look, and spoke exasperatedly.

"I know it's better for them, but man sometimes I really hate lying to people", she huffed. I felt some of the uncertainty in my stomach lessen, and I smiled in understanding. She smiled weakly back before she pushed herself off the door and walked over to where we were standing.

"Alright so this is kind of a long story so I'll give the bullet points", she said briskly. "This really, really rich, old woman just died around here. She owned just about everything and everyone in town, and from the sounds of things, she was just about the bitchiest snob you'd ever meet. Either way, some robbers broke into her house and killed her about two weeks ago. I spoke to her grandson, and apparently in her old age she was uber paranoid about people stealing her stuff, go figure huh?" I could feel Dean losing interest beside me, and sure enough, I heard him scoff. "Get to the point Nancy Drew", he gruffed. Cecilia glared at him before continuing.

"Seeing as the first house to be burnt down was the guy he swore was the robber, I figured I'd check into the others to see if they had a connection to the old bird. Turns out they were all employed in her house", she said with a pointed look to Dean. He scrunched his face in confusion.

"So they all worked for her. So what?" She rolled her eyes.

"Soo they're all out of work now, and they each had access to her house after she'd died. I checked, and there were some big ticket items missing from her estate when she passed. Way more than could be taken by one home invader".

"So you think these people stole from her, and now she's coming back to collect?" Dean asked. She nodded. "So why are we bothering with the house call? Why don't we just dig up old Moneybags and salt and burn her?"

"Cause Tom, her grandson, apparently decided that his Nana needed to be cremated, so he's basically taken care of that for us. But since I'm such a super detective", she drawled playfully, looking straight at Dean. He rolled his eyes and she laughed, a sweet tinkling sound that I wouldn't have guessed belonged to her. "I found the police report stating what was missing from her home", she finished, grabbing a piece of paper from the case files with a flourish. I couldn't help but grin at the proud look on her face. Dean however, decided to grab the paper from her hand.

"So what you're saying is all we have to do is find the things on this list, burn 'em, and the random acts of arson stop?", he asked, scanning the list.

"Yep", she answered, popping the 'p'. He nodded enthusiastically.

"Alright. Let's go then", he said, starting to walk off.

"We gotta try and find it before midnight, that's when granny died, and that's when most of the fires were believed to start!" Cecilia called to Dean's retreating form.

"Got it", he yelled as he ran up the stairs. She rolled her eyes before turning to look at me. I too rolled my eyes, and she laughed again. I felt my heart flutter a little bit.

"Kinda reminds you of a kid in a candy shop huh?" she said, looking off in the direction Dean had gone.

"Mmm", I hummed low in agreement. She smiled wide at me.

"Well I'm going to go change out of this damn skirt. Since Dean is clearly starting upstairs, why don't you and I search downstairs?" She asked, biting her lip. I nodded dumbly, mesmerized by the way she looked while doing so. She nodded too and walked out the front door, presumably to grab her clothes. As soon as she was gone I ran a hand through my hair and blew out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. What was this girl doing to me? I shook my head and headed to the family's living room to start looking and to clear my thoughts. I mean, sure, the girl was good and all, but hell I didn't know the first thing about her. And judging by the way I seemed to clam up when she was near I'd never learn anything either.

"Alright let's find some dead bitch's family heirlooms and burn 'em up", she said jovially as she reentered the room. She grinned at me before starting to dig through some old papers, and I couldn't help but grin back. She'd ditched her skirt and blazer in favor of some black leggings, a plain white V-neck, and an old pair of converse shoes. A bunch of tattoos I'd never been able to see before were now visible. She had red and black roses adorning the majority of her arm, some kind of initials behind her ears, and if I wasn't mistaken I also saw some tattoos peeking up from under her sneakers. When she turned back around and saw me gaping like an idiot, she smiled once more raising an eyebrow. I felt my face heat up and I opened my mouth, racking my brain for something intelligent to say.

"So. Erm. How did you manage to find out all that stuff about the case so fast?" I finally managed to spit out. Her eyes brightened, and soon she was talking animatedly about how she'd gone about it. I couldn't help but smile at her and found myself captivated by the amount of passion she had for what she did. Before long we were easily going back and forth, talking about anything and everything. I felt myself relax into the conversation, until I heard Dean stomp down the stairs. He scoffed at us, and rolled his eyes.

"I'd ask if you guys found anything, but by the looks of things I'm gonna guess not", he snapped. Cecilia rolled her eyes.

"And I'd ask if you'd found anything, but judging by the amount of sass you just gave me, I'd say you came up short too", she replied. I chuckled, and Dean scowled harder.

"Yeah but unlike you two, I was actually looking", he barked. I felt my face heat up once more as Cecilia crossed her arms. "If you haven't noticed—and I'm sure you haven't—it's quarter to 12. I don't feel like coming face to face with a pissed off old bat tonight, so Sam you look down here, and Celia you come look with me".

Cecilia turned to me and shrugged before heading up the stairs with Dean. I shook my head and started sifting through the shelves once more. I was slightly ashamed that we'd so thoroughly strayed from our task, but I also couldn't help but feel sort of elated that Celia and I had finally gotten to talk. She was undoubtedly one of the realest girls I'd ever met, and talking to her was so easy, so comfortable. I hoped that once this case was over, I'd find some way to convince her to stick around.

Dean's POV:

Cecilia and I had just began searching through the mother's bedroom when I spoke up.

"So you and Sam huh?" I said causally as I ruffled through the papers. Cecilia paused for a moment before turning to look at me, an eyebrow raised.

"Sam and I what?" she questioned.

"Come on Cecilia, I've seen how you guys look at each other. I'm not surprised he hasn't made a move yet, because he's Sammy, but I am surprised you haven't made one. You don't seem the type to just sit and wait for an invitation", I answered honestly. She huffed.

"First of all, I don't look at your brother any sort of way. And besides, I've known you guys for a total of about twelve hours now; even if we were looking at each other some kinda way, neither one of us are gonna make a move until it's been at least a day", she said playfully, continuing to search through the stuff. I chuckled.

"Saying something's wrong with my Sammy?" I joked, half serious. I was mostly just messing with her, something to fill the silence, but I could tell by the dopey look on Sam's face that he was getting in deep with this girl. I didn't want him to get in too deep if she wasn't interested. She snorted.

"Oh yeah all girls have such a problem with smart, handsome nice guys", she said sarcastically. "What about you champ, you got a girl? You seem pretty hostile to be working with me, and that means one of two things: either you got a girl and she's a jealous pissed off bitch, or you're one of those macho men who watches a lot of porn and chases all the one night stands in the world, but can't actually talk to girls about anything else".

I gaped at her, not believing that someone could be so forward. I quickly recovered though, and turned back to the jewelry box to rummage through it.

"Yeah well if I seem hostile it's probably because I don't like working with anyone, ever. And you're really not in a position to be making judgments about someone you've admittedly only known for twelve hours", I snapped back. I heard her chuckle from behind me and I turned to raise an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah well, while that may be true it doesn't mean that I wasn't right. And I'm sorry if it feels like I'm stealing all the cases from you guys, but I mean I wasn't exactly thrilled about working with anyone either, but you two are alright" she said honestly. "And besides, you clearly have a decent taste in music, and I can't just ignore that", she added wiggling her eyebrows sardonically. I laughed quietly and shook my head.

"Yeah well. You're alright too when you're not flirting with my brother", I admitted gruffly. She snickered.

"Yeah well don't take what I said in any kind of way meathead, cause I'm still gonna give you shit. I mean you make it too easy", she giggled. I shook my head, opening my mouth to reply, but stopped dead in my tracks when I heard Sam yelling from downstairs. Without so much as a glance I sprinted down the steps to a smoke filled lower floor. There were flames licking at the walls of most of the sitting room and kitchen's hallway.

"Sam!" I bellowed in a panic. He ran in from the sitting room, coughing. Relieved, I asked, "So I guess we missed the deadline huh?". He threw me a disparaging look.

"Shut up. She's around here somewhere; she tried to knock me into the fireplace, but I cracked her in the head with an iron poker and she disappeared", he coughed. "She's a nasty bitch. Did you guys manage to find the thing?"

I gave him the most scathing look I could, showing him my empty hands. He furrowed his brow.

"Dean we gotta get out of here. Where's Cecilia?" he asked worriedly. As I opened my mouth, the stairs gave out and the upper half of them crashed to the floor. I shot Sam a panicked look, and he screamed. Just as he did, I saw the old woman appear next to him and grab his neck. Reacting quickly, I snatched the fireplace poker from him and gave her a solid whack on her ancient butt. She disappeared instantly, and Sam fell to his knees holding his throat and coughing.

"I will get her out safe, but you gotta get out of here", I said, helping him up. He shook his head, but couldn't seem to get any words out. I began shoving him out the front door, "Don't sass me right now, just go".

"Dean get her out", he wheezed from the porch. I nodded once before heading back inside. I turned when I heard the door slam from behind me and I saw the lock tumble. I huffed. Stupid granny bitch was gonna get a hell of a fight from me.

"CECELIA", I yelled up the useless stairs. She stumbled out of the bedroom, coughing and wheezing. Jesus, what was with these two?

"I got it, I found one of her necklaces and crushed it and threw it into the fire", she puffed. Then she glanced at the stairs and looked at me with a defeated look. "What the fuck happened to the stairs?" she whined. I gestured to the flame-covered walls. She looked at me.

"Ideas?", she coughed. I opened my arms up.

"Looks like you're gonna have to jump", I said plainly. She shot me a panicked look. "Hurry up"

She steadied herself, closed her eyes and jumped into my waiting arms. I grunted from the impact before setting her down on the ground. She nodded at me in thanks, putting her hands on her knees and breathing hard. I nodded once in reply and turned to the door. The next chain of events happened all at once, and I felt like my body was stuck as I watched them unfold in slow motion in front of me.

One Mississippi. First- I hear the sounds of things breaking, much like the sounds of the stairs collapsing.

Two Mississippi. I see the ceiling beams above me coming towards me.

Three Mississippi. I hear Cecelia screaming, and feel her hands shoving me, hard.

Four Mississippi. I feel myself fall into the door and watch in horror as a heavy beam falls on her middle, knocking her to the floor.


End file.
